Popcorn
2018 Scout Popcorn Festival AUG 19!
Come one come all – this Sunday August 19, 2018, to the 2018 Scout Popcorn Festival!
See this post for details on the Festival, don’t miss out!
RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/2018CACFestival is appreciated but not required.
Full-sized flyer link: 2018 Scout Popcorn Festival Flyer.
2018 Popcorn Update and Kernel Intro!
2018 Scout Popcorn Festival!
Kroger Popcorn Storefronts Update – Urgent
This update comes from Crossroads BSA, email 6-Aug-2018:
We just received a phone call from Kroger headquarters and have some important news to share with all popcorn selling units. First and foremost, we value our relationship with Kroger – especially our Scouting for Food partnership – and we appreciate what they do for our community and Scout families! To clarify a couple of details and things that were mentioned on the call, we are following up with Kroger, but here are some things that you should be aware of now:
- Excluding Kroger, continue to book your own storefronts to ensure you hit your sales goal. This ONLY applies to Kroger. Look at some new and different stores that you have not sold at in the past, think outside the box, and let us know how we can help.
- Please do not contact Kroger (local stores or corporate) moving forward about selling in front of their stores. Kroger has instructed Council leadership to work directly with Kroger stores managers and coordinate all storefront shift with the units.
- We know that we will be booking and coordinating with units all Kroger selling shifts from Sept 17 – Oct 21. More information coming soon on how this process will work.
- If you have booked shifts with Kroger, hold tight and don’t do anything right now – don’t reach out to Kroger and don’t cancel the shifts. We are hoping you can keep everything you have already booked. We will be in touch soon.
- We are getting clarification on the Kroger “Race for Riley” fundraiser and how this impacts our sale before Sept 17.
Stay tuned for more information and a link on how your unit will sign up for Kroger store front sale through the council.
2018 Popcorn Sales around the corner!
As you are working with your Units to determine your popcorn sale commitment this month, keep in mind:
– Online sales begin August 1
– Unit sales plans and initial sales orders will be due in August
– Unit popcorn kickoff parties are to be completed by the first week in September
This year the Council will be holding the first annual Golden Eagle Neighborhood Popcorn Blitz on Saturday, September 22. Unit members can work together in one or both shifts (9:30-11 or 1-3) and will be assigned a neighborhood in which to work door to door. The Council will provide popcorn to be used in the sale, and all sales will be credited back to the Scouts and Units. Prizes will be awarded to the highest-selling Scout and Unit during the blitz. For more details and to Register for the event see the Council website listing linked in the event title above.
For a little inspiration you might want to check out the following article: How four Scouts sold a combined $250k in Popcorn (Scouting Wire magazine).
Good luck to all on a successful Popcorn selling season!!
Scout Popcorn Festival – August 26, 2018
On behalf of North Star District Executive Jessica Hofman:
Hey Cubs!
Most of you have heard me talk about the Scout Popcorn Festival coming in August. This is the second year in a row for this event, and if you ask others that have gone… it’s pretty awesome!!! Some experiences at the festival below:
- National Guard inflatable obstacle course
- Popcorn taste testing station
- BMX show (last year’s event, we’re looking into something equally as cool this year)
- Prize showing station
- Face painting
- Popcorn sales pitch training
- And more!
When: August 26, 2018 1 – 4pm
Where: Camp Belzer, 6102 Boy Scout Road, Lawrence IN
This event is free and an open house environment. There are a few benefits to you adding this to your calendar for the late Summer/ early Fall:
- This event qualifies as an August event for your Summertime Pack Award
- This event qualifies for “Scout Training” which is one of the patches that a youth can earn in the patch set this year
- It gets new and old Scouts excited about selling popcorn… which in turn leads to larger sales and more money for you all to put on AMAZING programming.
Sign up HERE .
Be sure to RSVP as soon as possible please – even if you are tentative on how many will be in your group! This type of event take A LOT of work on the front end and I want to make sure there’s enough time and effort put into this event for all of our Scouts to attend. Let me know if you have any questions!
Jessica Hofman
Popcorn: put it on your calendar
The Popcorn Festival is the start to the new fundraising year. Here is a fun infographic of some of the basic information.
For ease of adding this information to your e-calendar, I repeat the key information here. Sunday, August 13, 2017, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, at Camp Belzer, 6102 Boy Scout Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46226. More information at here..
Popcorn Wrap up
Just a few quick thoughts with popcorn ending:
- Make sure all your scouts turned in the forms for sales. Marilyn Lopez, Field Director for Western Section of CAC, reports that every year 50-60 scouts fail to turn theirs in.
- After all product return, we are $17,000 in hole. This means that we have inventory yet to sell.
- If your unit still has product orders that are not covered, there will be product Cash n’ Carry sales at Belzer on the following dates:
| November 11 | Last Day to Transfer Popcorn |
| November 16-19 | Sort/Distribute at Warehouses |
| November 29 | Cash ‘n Carry at Camp Belzer |
| December 2 | Final Payment Due |
| December 6 | Cash ‘n Carry at Camp Belzer |
| December 13 | Cash ‘n Carry at Camp Belzer |
| December 20 | Cash ‘n Carry at Camp Belzer |
So please help us sell this excess inventory by participating in these Cash ‘n Carry dates.
For more information see http://www.crossroadsbsa.org/BSA160page157.php.
Popcorn Sales Troubleshooting
In the next couple days, we will post an article on foreseeable problems in popcorn sales. I do not have the full information available at this moment. Watch this website for the article. It will be posted as soon as I get the information. I apologize for the tease now, but I thought you would want to know.
One example that I have heard is that the new popcorn app will add an order for popcorn to be delivered later if the scout does not mark the popcorn sale as already fulfilled. This will require the Popcorn Kernel to need to verify all future deliveries are correct before submitting the final order to avoid excessive fulfillment.
Popcorn 2016 Update #2
From District Popcorn Kernel Tom Petersen:
2016 Popcorn Sale
Below are some highlights of the 2016 Popcorn Sale!
Important Dates:
August 1st- Online Sales Begin
White Chocolatey Pretzels
Chocolatey Caramel Crunch
August 28th- Initial Orders Due
September 17th- Popcorn Sale Begins
September 17th-25th – Blitz Week
October 23rd- Popcorn Sale Ends
November 1st- Final Order and Prize Order Due
December 2nd- Final Payment Due
*A more detailed calendar will be provided at a later date
What’s New in 2016!
Theme:
The 2016 Popcorn sale will have a Space/Star Wars theme. This is something that the Scouts can get excited about and will keep them engaged in the sale. This theme should be used at your Kickoff Party to get the boys excited about the sale.
Two Week Blitz:
There will be a two week blitz from September 17th to September 25th to kick off the sale. A Scout that sells $350 in that two weeks will receive a pop-up lantern. If they sell $450 in those two weeks they will also receive a Foamstrike Switchblade Boomerang. Sales for this blitz DO NOT have to be take order but can be any type of sale. You will have product in hand during the Blitz!
Product line:
The product for the 2016 sale will be very similar to last year. The only new product this year will be Chocolatey Caramel Crunch. Two products will be offered in Tins this year. Both White Chocolatey Pretzels and Chocolatey Caramel Crunch will be offered in tins.
Things to Focus On
Here are things that you should be focusing on now to prepare for the Popcorn Sale:
· Fill out the online commitment form on the council website (http://tinyurl.com/2016PCF)
· Recruit Unit popcorn Kernels if needed
· Complete Unit Individual Sales Plan with District Kernel or District Executive (https://247scouting.com/web/BSA160/attachment/document_14637657300_2938.pdf)
Complete details can be found on the Council popcorn page (http://crossroadsbsa.org/popcorn)
Selling popcorn is a simple and efficient way to fund your Unit’s activities.
If you have questions, please contact me.
Tom Petersen
North Star District Popcorn Kernel
thomas.w.petersen@outlook.com
